Roy F. Mitte was raised in Brownsville, Texas, and attended Southwest
Texas State Teachers College on a partial athletic scholarship.
While at the university, he met Joann Cole, an elementary education
major from Bertram, Texas. The two were married during their senior
year, and Roy graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Science degree
in Education with a major in Physical Education, a minor in Biology,
and a certification in secondary education.

Immediately after graduation, Roy enlisted in the Army and served
in Korea. Upon his discharge, he began his career as a teacher
of biology and history at Lampasas High School. He also coached
basketball and became the winningest basketball coach in Lampasas
High School history. He completed his Master’s degree in Education
in 1958 with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Administration
in Education.

Making ends meet financially on a coach's modest salary was not
easy, so Roy decided to explore more lucrative opportunities. In
1959, he left coaching and began selling insurance for Aetna Life
and Casualty Company. He and his family later moved to Norfolk,
Virginia, where he joined Lincoln National Life Insurance Company.
Over a ten-year span, he built his agency into one of the most
successful in the company’s history. In 1972, he started his own
insurance company, FIC Insurance Group. After four years and one
of the most successful acquisition streaks in the industry, Roy
Mitte took Financial Industries Corporation public. As chairman
of the board, president and CEO of the company, he guided FIC and
its affiliates to become one of the most innovative and resourceful
leaders in the insurance industry.

As president of the Mitte Foundation, Roy was instrumental in
structuring a nationally recognized scholarship program for the
business schools at Indiana University, Ohio State University,
Pennsylvania State University and Texas A&M University. His
support of Junior Achievement of Central Texas helped launch several
new initiatives and expand rural programs, and his desire to give
back to his home town of Brownsville helped create the Mitte Cultural
District. The Mitte Cultural District incorporated funding for
renovations to the Dean Porter Park area, construction of a Civic
Pavilion, and establishment of the Mitte Cultural Education Center,
which houses the Children’s Museum of Brownsville and the Costumes
of the Americas Museum.

In 1982, Southwest Texas State University honored Roy with its
Distinguished Alumnus Award, and on December 17, 2005, Texas State
University-San Marcos conferred upon him and Joann Cole Mitte honorary
doctor of humane letters degrees, honoris causa.

Joann Cole Mitte
~ February 3, 1932 to December 4, 2007

Formerly
Miss Joann Cole, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Cole of Bertram,
Texas, Joann Mitte graduated from Bertram High School in 1949 where
she was elected as class secretary throughout her high school years,
was as a leader in Girl Scout, participated in the choral club
and on the yearbook staff, served as a cheerleader for the Panther
football team, played softball, and was selected as football sweetheart
her junior year and Miss B.H.S. her senior year.

Upon graduation,
she went on to attend Southwest Texas State Teachers College, where
she was president of her class, selected Queen of Frontier Days
and a member of both the Philosophian Literary Society and Kappa
Pi Fraternity.

She met Roy F. Mitte, also a student at Southwest Texas, and they
married during her senior year. She graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Education with a major in Elementary Education
and a minor in Art. After graduation, Joann accepted a position
as an art instructor at the Baptist Military Academy. She also
taught public school in El Paso, Killeen and Lampasas during the
early years of her marriage and while her husband was serving in
the armed forces in Korea.

Joann became the driving force behind the Mitte Foundation’s community
and cultural interests. As executive vice president of the Foundation,
she structured a giving program focused primarily on assisting
the elderly and aging, the arts, and educational services for disabled
youth. Her leadership helped launch the ArtesAmericas program at
the University of Texas and fund the Lyons Gardens complex for
Family Eldercare in Austin, Texas.

In 1998, Southwest Texas State University honored Joann with its
Distinguished Alumnus Award, and on December 17, 2005, Texas State
University-San Marcos conferred upon her and Roy Mitte honorary
doctor of humane letters degrees, honoris causa.